Mother Caroline Academy Students to Lead 5/9 "Spread the Peace" Rally for Violence Prevention

Mother Caroline Academy Students to Lead 5/9 "Spread the Peace" Rally for Violence Prevention

Boston-area students, teachers, peace activists, local politicians and others to distribute posters in Dorchester's Grove Hall neighborhood.

DORCHESTER, MA - Middle school students from Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center in Dorchester are tired of losing their friends and family members to gang violence, and they are hosting a "Spread the Peace" rally to do something about it.

On May 9, Mother Caroline Academy students will lead a rally with a crowd of more than 100 people through Dorchester's Grove Hall neighborhood: students from neighboring schools; community members, including Isaura Mendez, a Dorchester resident who lost both of her sons to violence and has focused her life on promoting peace; politicians and others. The group will distribute a poster that states "Spread the Peace" and urge local tenants and storefront owners to put the symbol in their windows as a sign of solidarity against gang violence.

The Spread the Peace event will be the students' second annual rally in Grove Hall, a neighborhood plagued with violence. The rally will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9 in front of Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center, located at 515 Blue Hill Ave. in Dorchester, MA, and it will last until 4:30 p.m.

Students in an after-school program at Mother Caroline Academy constructed the idea of Spread the Peace and are playing a lead role in the activities on May 9. The international non-profit organization Facing History and Ourselves recently honored the students as "Upstanders" - people who took up the challenge to speak out and make decisions that greatly impacted others' lives. A photo of the students is included in Facing History's "Choosing to Participate" exhibit, which is on display at the Boston Public Library through May 20.

Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center, located in the Grove Hall neighborhood of Boston, offers educational opportunities focused on changing the lives of Boston families whose income qualifies them for energy and heating assistance. Its programs are based on a holistic approach to learning and extend beyond the school day and the classroom to provide growth for the whole person and the whole family. For more information about MCAEC, log on at www.MCAEC.org

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